The Disney-MGM Studios I once knew is, without question, no more. While I can’t say that’s really a bad thing, I do miss some of the old attractions.

Which ones? Well, it was a lot of fun to watch the Foley artists create sound effects in the old Monster Sound Show. Come to think of it, it was also pretty neat to see some real sound stages being used for productions in filming. I remember how our tour guide would explain to us that we were not allowed to take pictures or video recordings of any kind while in the elevated tour tunnel that looked down into all of the Park’s soundstages. At first, I kept thinking that we should be quiet, since exterior noise is a big problem when recording. Alas, I underestimated Disney Imagineers in this respect, as our tour guide also informed us that there was a vacuum between the tunnel we were in and the actual sound stages, so it was impossible for sound to travel from one to another.

Speaking of sound stages, I was actually inside them during filming for a show on several occasions. Of course, there’s no way I would admit to this had this not be a Disney site.

So what show did I sit in on for several tapings? You know it very well, or at least the cast. Matter of fact, I bet you hear about at least one of the cast every single day on the radio or television.

I am of course talking about the All New Mickey Mouse club of the early 1990s. Most of those to make it “big” on their own from this show include Britney Spears (solo music artist), Christina Aguilera (solo music artist), Justin Timberlake (solo/group music artist), Keri Russell (TV actress), Joshua Chasez (group music artist), Nita Booth (Miss Virginia 1998/ Miss America 1998 Runner Up), and Dale Godboldo (TV actor). (Thanks go out to the MMC Online web site for those updates)

While the Studios were busy with Animation, the Mickey Mouse Club, and some other television series here or there, they were largely unused as compared to what the Walt Disney Company was hoping for. As a matter of fact, I can really only think of three other series that were filmed almost exclusively at the Disney-MGM Studios, namely the action show “Thunder in Paradise” of 1993-1995 starring Hulk Hogan , the “Let’s Make Deal” of 1990-1991 with Monty Hall, and the Xena-like action show “Sheena” starring Gena Lee Nolin of 2000.

...of course, that’s not such a great record when you’re trying to create a living studio. So why didn’t the Disney-MGM Studios get the kind of business they wanted to have? I mean after all, the weather on most days in Central Florida is beautiful, and the area was ripe for talent and was easily accessible.

Well if I remember correctly from a Film History course I took, Central Florida was actually the first choice of early filmmakers before they went and staked their claim in Hollywood, California. We’re talking waaaaay back here, folks, as in when they still had to hand crank the cameras to record. The weather in both places was similar, but Central Florida proved to be a little too unpredictable when it came to rain. In addition, the Central Florida landscape was too flat; there were no natural backgrounds for their use in shots. The area around Hollywood, California however had mountains that could be used as the backdrop of a film, and the weather could be counted on to be a bit more predictable. So, as the account goes, Hollywood became established as THE place for filmmaking, while Central Florida is just now being called “the Hollywood of the East.”

Why does this matter to Disney-MGM? Well, it seems that in the end, it was cheaper and easier to produce films and television shows in Hollywood. Now on the surface, Central Florida was a MUCH cheaper place to film than Hollywood. Most of the support a production would need was cheaper to acquire, as well as the State was a “right to work state”, which enabled productions to hire non-union workers easier. However, since the area had not been really engrained in the TV/Film production industry, there were no local equipment rental places to use. Where was all the equipment? You guessed it, Hollywood.

So, in order for a production to film “cheaper” in Central Florida rather than in Hollywood, they would actually have to take everything they needed with them from California to the location: lights, cameras, rigging, stunt equipment, etc.

In the end, it often proved to be the same cost for these productions to ship everything to Central Florida and film, versus staying in Hollywood. Since there were no immediate benefits to filming in Central Florida, most Directors and Producers simply didn’t.

So, you’re in charge of the Disney-MGM Studios and you start to have your productions, something which was supposed to be over half of what you would be doing there, drying up. What do you do?

Well, you do what works around here, which in this case means transforming the park into a whole Theme Park, including some of the previously “Production-Only” areas.

Let’s take a look and see what I’m talking about from a comparison standpoint. First, the opening park map we took a look at last week:

...and now, the current park map of the Disney-MGM Studios:

Of course, the fact that the newer map is better drawn and in vivid colors shouldn’t take away from the fact that the park has exploded since its opening in regards to attractions and shows. Park guests are now allowed to explore what seems to be twice the space of the old park, while experiencing some new unique attractions and shows such as MuppetVision 3D (a personal favorite), Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Fantasmic, Rock N’ Roller Coaster, the Tower of Terror, and coming soon the Lights, Motors, Action! motor stunt show.

Of course, the most famous attractions just mentioned, Rock N’ Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror, sit one what is for the most part a brand new street to the park. This is also the location pf the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater, home to the nighttime spectacular Fantasmic.

The Animation Tour, which has just recently opened once again in a new format, is still operating although the animation studio there is no more; Disney fired most of the animators that worked there, and kept a few that were sent back to California. Most of the others were either hired away to work with the competitors of Disney, or created new animation companies themselves (Of course, there wasn’t really a track record of success for the East Coast arm of Walt Disney Feature Animation. After all, they were only able to create features such as Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, and Brother Bear entirely from this location. For those wondering, yes that was sarcasm with a touch of bitterness)...

...The current tour (which will open soon) uses only one item from the old tour that hints at a working studio; the faux storyboard room from the old tour. All of the other windows with views of the old studio and the animator’s desks are gone, replaced by interactive kiosks. These kiosks allow guests to provide the voices of Disney characters, as well as answer questions to determine which character they are most like. At the end of the tour, guests are invited to draw characters of their own. What was once an incredible glimpse into a real working animation studio, the latest version of the tour attempts to keep your attention focused on the latest production about to debut, which is ironically Pixar’s Incredibles right now, while basking in the glow of past successes.

In this area we also currently have the very popular Playhouse Disney stage show, which is the latest of a number of shows that have been in that particular location. Speaking of shows, there have been several over the years which have performed in permanent stages including recently the Hunchback of Notre Dame show (near MuppetVision 3D, now shut down), and the Beauty and the Beast show (near Fantasmic and the Tower of Terror, still operating).

Back towards Animation Courtyard area though, the previously “off limits” area of the soundstages known as Mickey Avenue is now officially a major part of the park. In fact, it’s in soundstages three and four that guests currently get to experience the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Play It attraction. Soundstages one and two have been used for backstage tour purposes, often housing the sets and props of recent Disney theatrical releases (“101 Dalmatians” comes to mind).

Speaking of tours, the Backstage Tour, or what’s left of it, now starts at the water effects tank, with a Pearl Harbor (the movie) theme overlay of the mini-show done there. After that, you are taken to the tram tour which departs and arrives from the old end of the tram tour. Of course, now there is no residential street to ride down, and the biggest draw on the tour is the view inside the costuming and workshop(s), and Catastrophe Canyon. The old second part of this tour, the walking tour, has unfortunately been shut down since 2002. That’s really too bad because one of the best parts of this was the ability to see the special effects area in the beginning, last time around referred to as the “Jim Henson Creature Shop.” After that, it was fun wondering what real productions were occurring in the soundstages later on in the tour. Of course, what fun is it to walk for thirty minutes while you look at empty soundstages...

Continuing towards the back of the park the old Residential Street, which had various facades of TV homes, is now completely gone. That area is now being transformed into the stadium and track for the new Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show, which originated in the Disney Studios Paris park.

While the backstage tram tour had to be altered due to this fact, the park also had to alter the very popular Osbourne Spectacle of Lights, which were normally set up on and around these houses. As the Holidays are once again approaching soon, the park is moving the lights to the buildings on New York Street, after not having them for last year’s holiday travel period.

On New York Street, the old stage which housed the Hunchback of Notre Dame show is now being used for storage, as the park builds two more matte painting skylines: Chicago and San Francisco. These are being created on the ends of the street that intersects New York Street.

Going a little further, Star Tours is completely finished since we last spoke of it, and in fact has been open almost as long as the park has. Its neighbor, MuppetVision 3D, sits between it and the end of New York Street.

The Monster Sound Show we mentioned last week has changed since it opened. The new show called Sounds Dangerous stars Drew Carey, and is presented in a film format. Based on what I’ve seen in the past, I think the Soundsations booths in the post-show area of the old show inspired this new format. You see in the Soundsations booths, four to six guests would sit in a small sound-proof booth and place headphones on. They then proceeded to hear a story where they played the role of an executive getting ready for a big meeting...doors closing, people walking, and the infamous haircut, all around them. The point was to show just how real three dimensional sound could be, which proved to be highly popular in the post-show of the old Monster Sound Show.

The new version with Drew Carey took away the use of the old percussive objects that the Foley artists used with the Chevy Chase movie, and instead installed headphones for use at every seat in the main theatre. The new main show is about how Drew Carey is going undercover, and will be taking us along by wearing a special recording device so we can hear what’s happening. The show then uses the same technology as the Soundsations booths in that three dimensional sound is used in various situations, such as a hive of bees flying around your head. All the while this is done with no lights on in the auditorium, so that the effect is complete. Ironically, if not thankfully, the old Soundsations booths are still intact working like they had been since opening day.

If we keep going towards the center of the park, the old SuperStar Television has been long been abandoned. There was once an attempt since the Capital Cities/ABC takeover to use the space for some sort of coming soon to ABC type promotional attraction (if you could even call it that), but that didn’t last long at all.

Possibly the biggest change is the openness of the park itself now. In the original days, you could only walk around a limited section of the park. Even in the backstage areas of the tour, you could only get there if you were actually on the tour. Today you can navigate the park in almost any way, and reach any destination with multiple routes. To really get the point across, let’s use the same park map but this time I’ll highlight in light red the walkways/public areas that are now open to guests, which were either off limits or non-existent before. Keep in mind that I’m going to include the backstage tour areas as well, since if you weren’t on the tour in the old days, you couldn’t access those areas:

Of course, I’m sure you’re also aware of the very large sorcerer’s hat that now blocks the front of the Chinese Theater. Given the importance of the Chinese Theater, doesn’t that seem to be a strange place to put something like that? In fact, where did this hat come from, and why is it there?

Well, that’s the sort of thing that we will talk about next week, as we discuss the possible future of the park and its past identity issues. We’ll pay extra special attention to some contract issue that may change how we know the park itself. Until then as always...

Thanks for stopping on by, and I’ll see you next week!